Orientalism in Our Daily Lives

We as a “western” society continue to live with an Orientalist mindset. Just the fact that I used the term “western” perfectly showcases not only an orientalist mindset, but a completely Eurocentric one. Orientalism started as a way to rationalize colonizing the “middle east”, and build a power dynamic of Europe on top, one that we still face today. As much as we all don’t want to admit it, we have an Orientalist mindset. It has been ingrained in our minds since the moment we learned the differences between different cultures, and continually perpetuated in the media that we consume. However, it’s too easy to view the “media” or “society” or the way we were raised as some almighty higher power so we don’t have to hold ourselves accountable. As a white person, I need to do better. It’s not enough to acknowledge my Orientalist mindset and blame it on something so far removed from myself. We need to actively dismantle the system of Orientalism in our daily lives. Orientalism can be incredibly damaging, and does the exact thing it was created to do- put white people in a position of power. It allows us to view different cultures as a primitive “other”. Now how do we move beyond it? How do we take apart a system that has existed in our society for hundreds of years? It starts small. Whether it be calling out Orientalism when we see it in our daily interactions, or using the power of the pocket and not supporting companies that use Orientalism in their advertising, there are things we can do.